1946 Train 'set' for me to bring to life!

Dave,

 Nice bunch of stuff! I would give the locomotive a severe cleaning of the wheels, rollers and brush plate. I have good luck using Goo Gone and a rag. Since you have no traction tires, you can use the Goo Gone.You can use Q-tips on the brush plate. For parts, I use Jeff Kane at the Train Tender. Post pictures as you go along.

Hard to tell if you have rust on all of the cars.I would use a little gentle soap and water on the cabin car...to start.

Tom

Try Olsen's Toy Train Parts and daBay and the InterWebs in general. I'm sure there are others. This stuff is usually not rare. Usually.

That is a 3559 dump car, I'm pretty sure....

I love that Baby Ruth box car!Nick

Any of the cars have the early whirly wheels with thick axles? This would make it a early set.

franktrain

You have the 2103W set from 1946, with the exception of one car.  You have the X2456 Baby Ruth car, which should have had the X2458 PRR Automobile car.  It may have been a substitution, from the Seller, or even from Lionel, when the set was put together.  The Dump car is indeed the 3559, black version.  Another version was brown.  The roof for the coaling station is Part #97-66 which should be readily available from a majority of suppliers.  For the associated parts, here is a link to Olsens with a parts rundown to the 3559.

http://pictures.olsenstoy.com/cd/opcar/oc3559.pdf

Have fun cleaning and restoring it.  Decent value if in excellent condition and everything is complete.

There was a Sears uncatologed outfit in '46 that had the baby ruth 2454 boxcar in it instead of the PRR 2458.  I don't have my Greenberg book handy, but it might be that Sears set instead of the 2103W set.

Looks like you have some fun ahead of you Dave! Can't wait to see the finished product! 

Dave,

   Outstanding set to restore, 1st clean her up and see how much work is really going to need to be done.  Looks like the old 711 switch will be savable also!  Hope you have a pair not just one.

PCRR/Dave

I  love stories like this, bringing back a classic set to life!

Peter

that's great Dave. keep us updated.

try Jeff Kane

ttender.com

for your train parts

Here's an update, the tender, cars and coal elevator are finished.  Still working on the engine, the E unit looks rather bad, much worse than I thought, see picture.  Wires are cut, it's rusted etc. have not taken it out yet to show the owner see what he wants to do.  It does run in forward the way it is.  Engine cleaned up okay and all the parts are there which is a plus.  Both pilot and trailing truck are cast.   Need to order a few minor parts but all in all not much more to do. The coal elevator works fine, just need the roof.

PCRR Dave: Nope, only one switch! Cleaned up nicely but no 'lantern'.  Light bulb works though.

I usually get my parts from Jeff at the Train Tender.   

Here are some pictures of what I have done so far.  I know sometimes it's hard to tell in pictures how things really look. Haven't started on the motor yet.  The coal dump car needs to be done too. 

Everything looks good so far, but the E unit.  Nasty looking to say the least.  Did the link to Olsen's 3559 parts help.  Also the part number for the roof.  Jeff Kane probably has everything you need, but I usually check Olsen for the part numbers.  It should all come together for a nice set.

PennsyDave,

Very nice so far!  It will be nice to see the overall end product. 

While the e-unit may look bad from the surface corrosion on the housing, it might just be a bad drum.  A little work once the unit is removed from the motor itself.  The 224 I restored over ten years ago was stuck in neutral(the drum had melted/distorted).  A new drum and some clean up, then off the motor went.  Where is the cut wire?  Is it the wire for the head light?  Or does it look like it should go to the e-unit? (Can't tell by the photos and could be the reason for forward only).

I look forward to updates.

great job!

Please let us know whether you find the parts for the 3559 dump car.
It looks like it is missing the armature (solenoid plunger), spring, and cover.
When I wanted some parts for one of those cars, I was not able to find them.

In the past couple of years, I picked up three black ones for $10-$15 each. They were complete, in very good condition, but they did need to be rewired. (running them all together makes a neat looking tinplate train)

As far as black versus brown: I thought the difference was in the color of the plastic mechanism cover.

Test the Eunit. It might surprise you.

I LOVE that metal caboose. After WWII, it was only offered for 2 years. It came with my first set in 1947. I have "rescued" 3 that were in "Excellent" condition. They are common, but hard to find without heavy "play wear".

but hard to find without heavy "play wear".

I call that natural weathering....

rather fond of those Cabin Cars myself....

Dave,

  Great look...a switcher sandwich!

Tom

Here is the finished product!  Lionel 224 with tender, tank car, dump car, Baby Ruth boxcar and a caboose.  The 97 coal elevator and 1044 Transformer are also ready to go!  Put about $70 in parts into it and quite a few hours.  Needed an entirely new/rebuilt E unit.  

It's not perfect but it was probably made the same year I was born and I doubt it has run since the 50s.   I have a short movie clip but it's going to take me some time to  figure out how to post it!  

Nice. Your neighbor should be very happy! 

Tom

For the record, and I don't mean to be a spoiler, that's an O22 R/C switch, not a 711.

Big difference in value and availability.

looks great!

Nice job !!  Always good to see the old ones brought back to life.

Good job bringing that set back to life.Does the owner tend to run it or primarily show it? The critical thing that I have found about running PW sets is to keep all wheels well lubricated. In the days prior to needle bearing wheels about 6 or 7 cars were the limit that a consist could have.  One thing for sure, with those PW sets, you maintain them and they will keep running beyond the time where we are all in the box.

Your neighbor is gonna be a happy camper!

I forgot to give credit to Jeff Kane at The Train Tender.  He supplied all the parts I needed even the ones for the 3559 Dump car, including the bakelite cover, plunger and spring!!   He must have an amazing supply of stuff up there in NY!  He has always been able to get me what I need.  

initagain: Yes I know it's an 022 switch but thanks. Value is unimportant, neither I or the owner are collectors, just appreciators. 

Great job! What did you use to clean the cars?

I have several of those cars in about the same dirty condition and I've been hesitant to touch them.

Sean

Congratulations - well done.  It's great to see trains rejuvenated that looked pretty junky. 

not junky Daryl...just needed some love!

I just use soap and water, dishwashing soap and warm water.  And gently scrub with a toothbrush.  Of course I do remove electrical parts, most metal parts.  I wanted to make sure I did not rub off any of the decals especially on the Sunoco car.  The decals were all perfect just a bit yellowed.  I will use car polish then to get a nice look on things like the 97 elevator platform or painted areas.  Nothing cosmic for sure.  

Nice job!    Goes to show that you can't wear that old stuff out.......

There's just something so satisfying in reviving these old relics.  Nice going, Pennsydave!

Here's the reason I responded to your 3559 question.  Basically, the identical set came my way last year, in the same filthy condition.  Sorry, no before shots.

Bruce